"I would expect we are going to run into more obstacles [and] more VBIEDs [vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices]. They've had a long time to prepare for that fight, so all of that we're going to contend with here very, very soon," Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the Pentagon's unified command for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, told NBC.
Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led Combined Joint Task Force fighting Daesh, confirmed the information, adding that the Daesh deployed an "extraordinary" number of rockets and VBIEDs in Mosul. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that Mosul would be retaken.
A military operation to recapture Mosul from the Daesh, outlawed in Russia, was announced on October 17 by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi. According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, with the help of airstrikes by the US-led international coalition.
